Why a mysterious black briefcase follows the US president everywhere

The so-called nuclear Football is a black leather briefcase that
contains top-secret items capable of allowing the US president to
authorize a nuclear strike while away from fixed command
centers, such as the Situation Room.

Officially referred to as the
"president's emergency satchel," the unsophisticated-looking
portable Football is hand-carried by one of five military aides
and is always within reach of the commander in chief, just in
case.

According to Bill Gulley, a former director of the White
House Military Office, the ubiquitous Football does not contain a
doomsday red-button keypad but rather four items:

a 75-page black book of retaliatory nuclear-strike options
printed in black and red ink

another black book with a list of classified sites to shelter
the president

a manila folder containing 10 pages of instructions on how to
operate the Emergency Broadcast System

an index card with authentication codes

Sometimes an antenna can be seen poking out of the briefcase,
which suggests that there may be communications equipment inside.

The nickname "Football" comes
from "Dropkick," a code name given to a secret nuclear-war plan,
according to former US Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara.
Initiating a Dropkick would require one of these
Footballs,Smithsonian Magazineexplains.

The military aides selected to carry the briefcase are trained to
administer the president for a nuclear attack in minutes.

"You're always kind of on edge," recalls then Air Force Major
Robert Patterson, who toted the Football for President Bill
Clinton. "I opened it up
constantly just to refresh myself, to always be aware of what was
in it, all the potential decisions the president could possibly
make," Patterson told TheAssociated Press.

The ubiquitous Football is always in the same airplane,
helicopter, car, and elevator alongside the president. When the
president is at home, the Football is stored in a secure location
inside the White House, The AP reports.

A military aide carries the Football up
the stairs of Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base on April 7,
2010.

According to Patterson, some
aides chased after Clinton while he jogged around the White House
compound — all the while lugging the 45-pound briefcase.

The lethal luggage first appeared during the Kennedy
administration, shortly after the Cuban missile crisis in 1962.

It became immediately clear to top national-security officers
that the president needed unlimited access to nuclear war plans
after he reportedly posed the following questions during a
National Security Council meeting: